Robust Unity

I used to think that one way to have a more unified team was to somehow avoid conflict. Then I heard this statement:

“A pastor who avoids conflict has a bigger chance of experiencing a church split.”

I was surprised and a little incredulous by what I learned this at the Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution, in Fresno California.

When you are in doubt about how God wants you to respond to a certain relationship situation, here is God’s council. (I copied this list from Contagious Disciple, by Watson J., & Watson P.).

COMMANDS FOR LIVING IN COMMUNITY (“ ONE ANOTHER” PASSAGES)

1. Accept one another. (Rom 15: 7)
2. Agree with one another. (1 Cor. 1: 10; Phil. 4: 2)
3. Bear with one another. (Col. 3: 13)
4. Remember that we belong to one another. (Rom. 12: 5)
5. Consider one another as better. (Phil. 2: 3)
6. Do not break faith with one another. (Mal. 2: 10)
7. Build up one another. (Eph. 4: 29; 1 Thess. 5: 11)
8. Do not be a burden to one another. (Gal. 6: 4– 5)
9. Carry one another’s burdens. (Gal. 6: 2)
10. Do not compare yourselves to one another. (Gal. 6: 4– 5)
11. Have equal concern for one another. (1 Cor. 12: 25– 27)
12. Confess your sins to one another. (James 5: 16)
13. Do not covet one another’s spouses. (Ex. 20: 17; Deut. 5: 21)
14. Do not desire one another’s property. (Ex. 20: 17; Deut. 5: 21)
15. Let no debt remain outstanding to one another. (Rom. 13: 8)
16. Do not allow stealing, lying, and deception to be a part of your relationships with one another. (Lev. 19: 11)
17. Do not devour or destroy one another. (Gal. 5: 15)
18. Be devoted to one another. (Rom. 12: 10)
19. Discipline one another. (Matt. 18: 15– 17)
20. Do good and share with one another. (Heb. 13: 16)
21. Build up one another with your faith. (Rom. 1: 11– 12)
22. Encourage one another. (1 Thess. 4: 18; 5: 11; Titus 1: 9; Heb. 3: 13; 10: 25)
23. Spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (Heb. 10: 24)
24. Do not envy one another. (Gal. 5: 26)
25. Judge one another fairly. (Lev. 19: 15)
26. Do not do anything to cause one another to fall. (Rom. 14: 21)
27. Fellowship with one another. (1 John 1: 7)
28. Forgive one another. (Matt. 18: 21– 35; Eph. 4: 32; Col. 3: 13)
29. Serve one another with your gifts. (1 Cor. 12: 7; 1 Peter 4: 10)
30. Give to one another. (Prov. 3: 28; Luke 6: 30; 17: 3– 4)
31. Greet one another. (Rom. 16: 16; 1 Peter 5: 14)
32. Do not hold a grudge against one another. (Lev. 19: 18)
33. Do not grumble against one another. (James 5: 9)
34. Do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward one another. (Deut. 15: 7)
35. Do not plot harm against one another. (Prov. 3: 29)
36. Live in harmony with one another. (Rom. 12: 16; 1 Peter 3: 8)
37. Do not hate one another in your hearts. (Lev. 19: 17)
38. Honor one another above yourselves. (Rom. 12: 10) 39.
39. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. (1 Peter 4: 9)
40. Have humility toward one another. (1 Peter 5: 5)
41. Do not do things that will hurt one another. (Rom. 14: 15)
42. Be full of goodness, complete in knowledge, and competent to instruct one another. (Rom. 15: 14)
43. Do not charge one another interest on personal loans of money or goods. (Deut. 23: 19)
44. Do not judge one another. (Rom. 14: 10, 13; 14: 13; James 4: 12)
45. Be kind to one another and everyone else. (1 Thess. 5: 15; 2 Tim. 2: 24; Eph. 4: 32)
46. Do not lie to or about one another. (Ex. 20: 16; Deut. 5: 20; Col. 3: 9– 10)
47. Look after one another’s interests. (Phil. 2: 4)
48. Do not gloat over the destruction of one another, or boast about your good fortune when others are in trouble. (Obad. 1: 12)
49. Do not look down on one another. (Rom. 14: 10)
50. Love one another. (Lev. 19: 18; Matt. 22: 36– 39; Mark 12: 28– 31; Luke 10: 25– 27; John 13: 34– 35; 15: 12; 17; Rom. 13: 9; Gal. 5: 14; 1 Thess. 3: 12; 4: 9; 2 Thess. 1: 3; Heb. 13: 1; James 2: 8; 1 Peter 1: 22; 4: 8; 1 John 3: 11, 23; 4: 7, 11– 12; 2 John 1: 5– 6; see also 1 Corinthians 13: 4– 13)
51. Have mercy and compassion for one another. (Zech. 7: 9)
52. Be openhanded with one another. (Deut. 15: 11)
53. Be patient with one another. (Eph. 4: 2)
54. Be at peace with one another. (Mark 9: 50; 1 Thess. 5: 12– 13)
55. Pray for one another. (James 5: 16)
56. Do not provoke one another. (Gal. 5: 26)
57. Rebuke one another so you don’t share another’s guilt. (Lev. 19: 17)
58. Be reconciled to one another. (Matt. 5: 23– 24)
59. Show respect to one another. (1 Peter 2: 17)
60. Gently restore one another when caught in sin. (Gal. 6: 1)
61. Do not seek revenge against one another. (Lev. 19: 18)
62. Seek the good of one another. (1 Cor. 10: 24)
63. Serve one another. (Gal. 5: 13)
64. Do not slander one another. (James 4: 11)
65. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. (Eph. 5: 19– 20)
66. Do not steal from one another by stealth, force, trickery or deceit. (Lev. 19: 13)
67. Do not put stumbling blocks or obstacles in one another’s way. (Rom. 14: 13)
68. Submit to one another. (1 Cor. 16: 15– 16; Eph. 5: 21)
69. Do not take advantage of one another. (Lev. 25: 14, 17)
70. Teach and admonish one another. (Col. 3: 16)
71. Make sure there is a good reason to testify against one another. (Prov. 24: 28)
72. Do not think evil of one another. (Zech. 7: 10)
73. Speak truth to one another. (Zech. 8: 16– 17)
74. Do not plot evil against one another. (Zech. 8: 16– 17)
75. Wait for one another. (1 Cor. 11: 33)

Watson, David; Watson, Paul (2014). Contagious Disciple Making: Leading Others on a Journey of Discovery (p. 166-168). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Off to study abroad…

This may be the best place to eat in Belem. We’ll take you here if you come to visit us.

Last meal together at the airport.

 And they are off to study abroad.

Emma and Bella surprised us with this book just before they went through the security gates, on their way out of Brazil.

Deanna and I are empty-nesters for the summer. Bella will come back in the Fall to do Grade 12.

This fellow wanted to buy our old car but he did not have enough cash. We traded for paint for the inside of the church and hours with his loader. Here we are moving dirt from one sloping area of our property to put beside our existing church building. We are preparing our nets for a bigger catch. As the group grows, we want to double the size of this building, and go to multiple services. One of the principles we follow is the principle of good restaurants, “If the food is good, the people will come.” While we are mostly thinking of spiritual food, we like celebrating too, as often as possible.

I call this section Inching Forward because we are planning for the years to come, one small step at a time.

This week-end (in March 2015) we had our first TLC (Training Leaders of Communities) week-end. We have not done an event like this before so we decided to make it simple and to monitor the results. After identifying eight topics that center around church leadership we decided to make the meetings as interactive as possible, that each leader should make sure there were lots of good snacks, and to finish the week-end with a meal. Mostly, within this Complex Framework, things went really well.

In a Complex Framework there is a link between the cause and effect, but it can only be known after the fact because there are so many variables. Afterwards, when we evaluate what we did, we will identify what went well, and do more of that, and what did not go so well, and do less of that.

There are three other organizational frameworks. Each one is right for a certain setting, and each one requires a different type of leadership. And then there is the fifth area, known as the Difficult Framework. This is where we are most of our time as we are trying to identify which of the other four will best help us solve our current leadership challenges. (Our professor posted a Prezi, a type of slideshow, that explains the four organizational categories known as the Cynefin Framework. If you are a leader, you may find this helpful when your group encounters challenges. Click here to start the Prezi.)